Are Romanian and Greek Orthodox the same?

[Terry]

Is Romanian and Greek orthodox the same? If not, what are their differences?

[Kris]

Is Romanian and Greek orthodox the same? If not, what are their differences?

Hi,

They are both part of the same One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.

In XC,
Kris

[Herman Blaydoe]

Same beliefs, different languages, music, and perhaps customs.

[Kris]

Here is a list of all the different local churches which make up the Orthodox Church (I hope I haven't forgotten any):

Constantinople
Alexandria
Antioch
Jerusalem
Moscow
Georgia
Serbia
Romania
Bulgaria
Cyprus
Greece
Albania
Poland
Czech and Slovakia
OCA (Orthodox Church in America)
ROCOR (Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia)

Just as a side note, the term "Greek Orthodox" when applied to people living in America, Western Europe, Australia, etc. refers to those under the Patriarch of Constantinople, and not the Archbishop of Athens (i.e. the Church of Greece). Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch and, of course, Cyprus are also usually referred to as Greek Orthodox.

[Alex Haig]

Is Romanian and Greek orthodox the same? If not, what are their differences?

They are the same in Faith.

There are differences in local practices, e.g. receiving of a Priest's blessing, language &c, but it's splitting hairs to say these are real differences.

With love in Christ

Alex

[Alex Haig]

Just as a side note, the term "Greek Orthodox" when applied to people living in America, Western Europe, Australia, etc. refers to those under the Patriarch of Constantinople, and not the Archbishop of Athens (i.e. the Church of Greece). Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch and, of course, Cyprus are also usually referred to as Greek Orthodox.

As far as I can work out, strictly speaking there's no such thing as the "Greek Orthodox Church" - it's a tag which is often used as short-hand to differentiate between Orthodox Jewish and Orthodox Christians and in other circumstances between Orthodox of a Greek tradition with those of a Slavic one.

Remember that historically (and even today in Istanbul) the Ecumenical Patriarchate refers to itself as "Roman".

With love in Christ

Alex

[Kris]

As far as I can work out, strictly speaking there's no such thing as the "Greek Orthodox Church" - it's a tag which is often used as short-hand to differentiate between Orthodox Jewish and Orthodox Christians and in other circumstances between Orthodox of a Greek tradition with those of a Slavic one.

Remember that historically (and even today in Istanbul) the Ecumenical Patriarchate refers to itself as "Roman".


I suppose it depends on how you use the term. The Ecumenical Patriarchate in the USA is known as the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America; in Britain its called the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateria and Great Britain; the official name of the Syrian church is The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and all the East, etc.

Personally, I tend to refrain from using such titles, since they are often misleading and cause confusion.

In XC,
Kris

[Father David Moser]

Is Romanian and Greek orthodox the same? If not, what are their differences?

Romanians speak Romanian, Greeks speak Greek, Russians speak Russian, Americans speak English and Orthodox is Orthodox.

Fr David Moser

[Chrissi]

Is Romanian and Greek orthodox the same? If not, what are their differences?

I think you're thinking more in terms of culture, rather than religion, in this particular question. I can only say from my experience the "difference" between Russian and Greek Orthodox in Australia, and that is that the Greek Orthodox go by the New Calender and commonly have pews in their churches (and other differences of course, which I do not remember currently), whereas the Russian Orthodox church goes by the Old Calender. Between Romanian and Greek there would most certainly be differences due to the languages. That is, they may need to adjust their hymns based on their particular languages, etc. Other than that, there is no real distinction between the cultural sections of the Church. As long as you understand that point, then you will be able to go into the different churches and revel in the beauty that is the difference in each cultures customs. It is a good thing that there are some small differences in the church also because it gives us as Orthodox people the opportunity to share religion and culture, two very important influences in our lives.

In Christ,
Christina

[Ryan]

Just as a side note, the term "Greek Orthodox" when applied to people living in America, Western Europe, Australia, etc. refers to those under the Patriarch of Constantinople

Aren't there other jurisdictions uner the EP, like ACROD?

I've heard the term "Greek Orthodox" used to describe the entire Orthodox Church in some places.

[Kris]

Aren't there other jurisdictions uner the EP, like ACROD?


Hi,

Yes, the ACROD is also under the EP. Many of Europe's Russian Orthodox are also under the EP (Paris Archdiocese), but given that they have their roots in Russia and Ukraine, the term Greek Orthodox is usually not applied to them (I was refering to the GOARCH).



I've heard the term "Greek Orthodox" used to describe the entire Orthodox Church in some places.

At the time of the Great Schism, the Western part of the Empire spoke Latin and the Eastern part Greek. Therefore, when the Western Church broke away from the Eastern Churches, the two bodies became known as the Latin and Greek Churches respectively.

However, since the Slavic Churches were never part of the Greek speaking Empire, the term "Greek Orthodox" is rarely applied to them.

In XC,
Kris

[Alex Haig]

... the official name of the Syrian church is The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch and all the East ...

Sorry to be a pedant, but as tags are important in this thread the title is actually "The Roman Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all the East."
With love in Christ

Alex

[Alex Haig]

I've heard the term "Greek Orthodox" used to describe the entire Orthodox Church in some places.

In the Church's history, 'Greek' really transcends nationality: St Athanasius is a Greek Father but was Egyptian, likewise St John Chrysostom (from Syria). "Greek" is really used to signify the language rather than nationality. Seeing as we're all in the legacy of these great Fathers then in a sense we are all Greek Orthodox.

With love in Christ

Alex

[Peter Farrington]

That's true. And there are a lot of Greek derived words in the Coptic language. And much of our theological discourse is in Greek terms.

I do think that there are some benefits in the Byzantine rejection of local liturgical culture in the late Imperial period, much as in Roman Catholicism. But I think I prefer the great variety of practice which has been preserved in Oriental Orthodoxy from the earliest times. Ethiopian and Eritrean worship is different from Coptic which is different from Armenian and Syrian, yet all are manifestily Orthodox. Indeed their diverse practices go back to the earliest times and reflect the nature of Orthodoxy before the great divisions.

Peter

[Mark Harrison]

For what it's worth my experience is similar to others':

1) 'Greek' Orthodox is commonly, if not accurately, used to describe the non-Slavic Orthodox Churches.

2) 'Greek' Orthodox is used to describe the Chalcedonian, non-Latin, Patriarchates of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria. On official documents and signs I have seen specifically 'helleniki' (Greek) written.

3) 'Greek Orthodox' is used by some non-Orthodox to describe ALL Orthodox. I have even seen a map that showed Russia as being 'Greek Orthodox.' Silly really, but true.

4) 'Greek' is the term that is applied to the Archdioceses of North America and Great Britain (Thyateira) under the Ecumenical Patrirarchate.

5) The EP holds the title 'Archbishop of Constantinople and New Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch.' The Byzantines very much considered themselves 'Romans,' as Alex said, and this has not ceased in the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Fr John Romanides made a big deal about this in his writings.

6) Greek vs Latin can be used in a perjorative sense, but it can also be used in a very neutral sense. To refer to the 'Greeks' and the 'Latins' before the Great Schism is a way to simply identify the two cultural bases that, up until then, were clashing, but had not formally split. In many cases, it was just a cultural clash and no one could be said to be in the wrong theologically. Two different approaches were at play, each of which had value.

MAH

[Mark Harrison]

Sorry, that should have read 'Hellenikon' (Patriarcheion).

I am no expert on Fr John Romanides, but this much I know:

He focused much of his attention on the Frankish take-over of the Church of Rome, and its relationship to the collapse of Orthodoxy in the West. It is probably good that he was never enlisted as a diplomat. We'd probably be at war with the Roman Catholics. It's not that what he said was untrue; he was a brilliant scholar by all account, and the Filioque became a real problem under the Franks (=Normans), who also invaded England and toppled Orthodoxy and Anglo-Saxon culture in one blow. He was, however, to my taste, rather vitriolic at times.

MAH

[Peter Farrington]

I wish I had been able to meet Fr John Romanides, I find much of what he write very important, reflective and interesting, I do know some EO in the US who were among his disciples.

But I could never understand his writings about the Franks. I understood them historically but he seemed to draw some contemporary conclusions which I never grasped. I always felt 'yes, but so what?'. I never understood what the facts about the Frankish domination of the Gallic Church meant to someone wanting to see France become Orthodox today. It's not as if France is ruled by identifiable Franks.

??

Peter

[Dimitris]

3) 'Greek Orthodox' is used by some non-Orthodox to describe ALL Orthodox. I have even seen a map that showed Russia as being 'Greek Orthodox.' Silly really, but true.
Hallo!

Despite still having to learn much about orthodoxy, I do not agree with this statement. As far as I know, the reference to ALL Orthodox as "Greek Orthodox" is not only used by some non-Orthodox, but also by the Orthodox themselves. It is essential to understand, that "Greek" generally does not refer to language or nationality, but to culture. Actually, all Orthodox autocephalous Churches are to be called "Greek-Orthodox" because they follow the Christian faith and rites as influenced by the Greek culture (in contradiction to the faith and rites as influenced by the Roman culture).

In my opinion it is perfectly legitimately to call the Orthodox Church "Greek-Orthodox" when referring to the whole Church, but also when describing each single autocephalous Church. At least it is in my opinion less confusing than describing particular local Churches as "Bulgarian-Orthodox", "Romanian-Orthodox" or "Slavic".

Please note that my opinion has nothing to do with my Greek roots, there is really no nationalism here. What do you think?

Dimitris